Box-machine.



Fll/94.

-5 sHBBT-SHBBT 1.

M. QUINLAN.

B0X MACHINE.

Patented Mar. 26

APPLICATION FILED APB. 11, 1911,

Ymlminm "n" E COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH C0.. WASHINGTON. D. C.

M. QUINLAN.

BOX MACHINE.

, I l APPLICATION FILED .APB.11, 1.911. 1,021,703.

M. gar/nava COLUMBI PLANOGRAPH Co., WASHINGTON, D, C.

. Patted Mar. 26, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

M. QUINLAN.

BOX MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 11, 1911. 1,021,703. PatentedMar.26,1912.

' 5 SHEETS-SHBET 3.

i l.. w..

M. -QUINLANI B0X MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APB.. 11,1911,

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET Wwe/30,0

col-.DMEM PLANOGRAPH C0.wAsHlNuToN, D. c.

M. QUINLAN.

' BOX MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APBI, 1911.

Patented Mar.\26, 1912.

5 SHEETSfS HEIIT UMBIA PLANDGRAPH co., WASHINGTON D c UNITED sTATEsPATENT oEEioE.VA`

MICHAEL QUINLAN, 0F MONKTON, VERMONT, ASSIG-NOR` TO NEW HAVEN MILLSMFG".

CO., OF NEW HAVEN MILLS, VERMONT. t

B0X-MACHINE.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 11, 1911.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

serial No. 620,491.

To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL QUINLAN, citizen of the United States,residing at Monkton, in the county of Addison and State of Vermont, haveinvented cert-ain `new and useful Improvements in Box-Machines, of whichthe following is a speciried, and a spring for forcing a board as itcation.

My invention relates to machines for assembling and forming woodenboxes, and

the primary object of my invention is the provision of a relativelysimple and eicient machine for automatically assembling and pressingint-o interlocking engagement with each other the tongued and mortisedboards that form the sides and endsof a box, the machine being rapid inaction and having a large capacity.

A further object is to provide a machine o-f this character in whicht-he parts are adjustable so that it is adapted to assemble and presstogether either large boxes or very small boxes.

Another object is the provision of a mafv whereby t-he relativeposit-ions of the side; and end boards may be independently regulated sothat the tops of the boards may be all on the same horizontal plane orthe top of any board lowered below the top plane of the remainingboards.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

An embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings wherein.:

Figure l is a plan view of the machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation,partly sectional, of the mechanism for feeding and pushing forward oneof the boards, the supporting frame being removed. Fig. 3 is atransverse section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlargedelevation, partly in section, of a portion of Fig. 3, showing themechanism for feeding and pushing forward one of the boardsconstitutingthe box. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a port-ion of the box former, aportion of the box being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 6 is an enlargedside elevatio-n, partly sectional, of the parts illustrated in Fig. 4but showing the position taken by the feeding jaws in forcing which ittravels. view in the nat-ure of a diagram showing the is pushed forwarddown onto the ways upon Fig. 9 is a perspective relative positions ofthe glue-applying rollers, a board being shown as traveling over theserollers. Fig. 10 is a perspective View of the mechanism for feeding andpushing forward one of the box boards. a perspective detail view of oneof the pressing jaw operating frames or slides with the jaws attachedthereto. Fig. l2 is a detail fragmentary elevation of the cam foroperating the arm 63 and a portion of said arm, the shaft 68 being shownin section.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to inthe followingVdescription and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawingsby the same reference characters. Referring now to Figs. l, 2 and 3, itwill be seen that my machine is supported upon a rectangular frame,designated 2, of any suitable construction and supported on legs 3.Extending from one side of the frame to the other are the spacedparallel supports 4:, while disposed at right angles to the supportsr 4are the spaced parallel supports 5, t-he distance between the supports 5being the same as the distance between the supports 4. The supports 4and the supports 5 form four pairs of supporting members,

-each pair extending at right angles to each other, and each pair ofsupports having mounted thereon the-mechanism for feeding and movinginward one board of the box. The mechanism for feeding and moving intoposition the boards is exactly alike for each side of the machine andhence a description of the-mechanism for feeding and moving any oneboard will apply to the others.

Referring now particularly to Figs. l and 2, it will be seen that theupper faces of the supports 4, (and the upper faces of the supports 5 aswell, the supports 5 having precisely the same construction andfunct-ion as the supports t) are provided with guide strips 6 recessedon their inside edges. These guide strips are parallel to each otherFig. ll is and receive between them a slide 7. This slide is rectangularin its general form, the forward end of the slide, however, beingcontracted as at 8. Preferably the slide 7 is in the form of a frame,permitting the operating mechanism to project upward inside the frame,as will be later described.

Mounted on the side pieces 9 of the frame 7 are the posts 10, theseposts being connected at their upper ends by a transverse cross bar 11.The posts are screw threaded and inserted through the cross bar andprovided with nuts on their ends whereby the cross bar is held in rigidengagement with the posts. The cross bar is longitudinally slotted as at12, and mounted upon the cross bar are the two oppositely disposedslides 13 provided with bolts 14 which pass through the slot 12, therear ends of these bolts being provided with heads 15 and with nuts 16.By this means the slides 13 may be held in any desired adjusted relationupon the cross bar. In order to prevent these slides turning relativelyto the cross bar and upon the bolts 14, I form the inner face of theslide near its upper end with the transverse tongue 17 which engages inthe slot 12.

Attached to each slide 13 and depending therefrom is an angular guide18, the edge of this guide being flush with the inner edge of the slide13, as illustrated in Fig. 8. The guides 18 are entirely supported fromthe slides 13 and thus from the cross bar 11, and these guides areadjustable nearer to or farther from each other by shifting the slides13. The lower end of each guide is vertically slotted as at 19, see Fig.8, and mounted upon the outer face of each guide is an angular spring20. A bolt 19a passes through the spring and through the slot 19, and bythis bolt the spring 20 may be adjusted up or down. The spring 2Oextends clown below the lower end of the guide and is then bent downwardtoward the center of the machine, as illustrated in Figs. 6, 7 and 8.The spring finger thus formed 1 designate 21.

Attached to the lower end of each guide and projecting inward therefromis a track bar 22 illust-rated in Fig. 9. This track bar is composed ofparallel spaced strips forming sides and one side 23 of the track barextends up higher than the side 24. The side 23 is flush with the sideflange 13a of the guide 18, while the side 24 is flush with the edge ofthe flange 181 of the guide. It will be understood therefore that theflange 24 is disposed below the lower edge of the flange 18b a distanceequal to the thickness of one of the boards A. Thus the board whichforms the bottoni of the pile of boards carried by each pair of guides18 is supported upon the outer ends of the sides flanges 18b of theguides, the spring 21 holding the board firmly down upon the upper edgeof the side flange 24.

Mounted upon the upper face of the slide 7 and disposed along the sideedges of the slide, are the guide strips 25 whose positions can best beseen in Fig-2. These guides are undercut and engage over the side edgesof a slide 26 which is shown in detail in Fig. 11. This slide 2G has across bar 27 at its forward end and the slide is adapted to reciprocateupon and independently of the slide 7.

Hinged to the face of the cross bar 27 by hinges 28 is a grooved member29 having a groove 29a cut longitudinally upon its upper face, thisgroove being T-shaped in cross lsection. Mounted upon this transversegrooved carrier 29 are a pair of pressing jaws 30 having beveled insidefaces. These pressing jaws are cut away at the rear so as to lit overthe carrier 29, as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, and passing througheach jaw is a bolt 31 having an enlarged head 32 at its lower end whichfits in the enlarged portion of the groove 29a and engages with theundercut walls thereof. Preferably, and to prevent turning, the underface of the cutaway portion of the jaw 30 is formed with a tongue 33which engages in the groove 29a. The upper end of the bolt 31 isprovided with a nut 34 whereby the bolt may be tightened and the jawheld in any desired -adjusted position. It will be seen from Figs. 6 and7 that each jaw extends down below the under face of the carrying member29 and into a plane slightly below the upper edge of the flange 24 ofthe rail 22. It will be seen that the jaw can t-urn upward upon thehinge 28 as illustrated in Fig. 4 to permit the passage of a boardbeneath the jaw, the jaw being beveled at 35 to permit the board topress the jaw upward. t hat applies to one jaw of course applies to theother and all the pairs of jaws operate in precisely the same manner.

Mounted upon a transverse support 3G, which is connected to the tracks24 to move therewith, is. a pair of upwardly curved springs 37, as bestshown in Figs. 6, 7 and 10. There is one of these springs for each pairof jaws 30 and hence four springs 37 altogether in the machine. Thesprings are upwardly curved and are relatively strong and thus actasguides as shown in Fig. 6 whereby the board A is raised to a verticalposition as the jaws 30 move toward the center of the machine.

For the purpose of ejecting the board from its position at the lowerends of the guides 18, I provide a pushing finger 40 which is mountedupon a block 41, which in turn is mounted upon a rack bar 42 operated aswill be hereafter described. It is 24 and may be pushed out beneath thesufcient to say that this finger 40 recipro- Cates with relationv to thechute or hopper' formed by the guides 18 and with relation to the jaws.As this finger moves inward or toward the center of the machine, theextremity of the finger contacts with the lowermost board of the pile ofboards A and shoves it out from beneath the pile of boards and beneaththe spring 21. This spring 21 forces it downward for a purpose vas shownin Fig. 6 until it escapes the forward edges of the jaws 30. The jaws 30then move forward, forcing' the board into a vertical position as shownin F ig. 7. The

board is limited in its upward movement by stops 43 .formed upon thebifurcated end` of a stop plate 44, this stop plate being bifurcated toprovide two spaced parallel arms 45, the lower ends of which are out'wardly turned to form the stops 43. The plate is slotted as at 46.

The stop plate 44 is adjustably mounted upon a forming member 47 whichdepends from a support as will be later described and is likewisebifurcated to provide two depending legs 48.- A bolt 49 passes throughthe body of the forming member 47, the extremity of the bolt beingprovided with a nut. This boltpasses through the slot 46 and by means ofthe bolt and nut, the stop plate 44 may be vertically adjusted upon theforming member so as to control the height to which the board A will beraised by the spring 37.

Attached to the rear face of the forming member 47 is a downwardlyextending spring 50, the middle of this spring being outwardly bent asat 51 and then extended downward as at 52, the plane of the downwardlyextending portion or tongue 52 being thus outward out of the plane ofthe legs 48. The spring with its tongue 52 constitutes a resilient meansfor yieldingly clamping vthe board against the edges of the jaws 30, asillustrated in Fig. 7.

The spring 37 acts to push the board a, upward and thus to raise the topof the board. The board will be pushed upward by the spring until theupper edge of thev board strikes the stops 43. By adjusting the stopplate 44, therefore, the height to which the board may be raised withrela* tion to the aws 30 (and with relation to the other boards of thebox) may be adjusted.

` The adjustability of the stops 43V also pro- Avides for themanufacture of boxes of various depths. l

The forming member 47 is supported upon a depending hanger or support.There are four of these forming members, each facing onevside of the boxto be made, in other words, each facing a pair of jaws 30,V theseforming members being arranged in quadrilateral relation to each other.Mechanism is provided whereby the hanger supporting the forming membersis raised after a box is formed to permit the box to drop below thelevel of the machine and then again lowered to engage new boards to forma new box.

In detail, the forming members 47 are so supported that they may beadjusted nearer to or farther'from the jaws 30 so that boxes of varioussizes may be made. For this purpose the supporting rod 53 is provided atits lower end with four outwardly projecting'arms, these arms being atright angles to each other and designated 54. Each of these arms isslotted as at 55. The upper end of the former 47 is provided with aprojecting iange or lug 56 perforated for the passage of a bolt 57 whichpasses down through the slot 55. It will be obvious that by this meansthe forming member may be adjusted along the flange to any desiredposition.

VThe rod 53 is vertically movable in guides 58 and 59, the guide 59being formed as an eye carried by the extremity of a curved arm `60which is attached to a corner 'of the frame of the machine and extendsupward and over the machine to the center thereof, so that the guides 58and 59 are supported exact-ly in the center of the machine. The guide 58is carried upon an arm 61 attached to or formed with the arm 60. The'rod53 is limited in its movement by means of a limiting pin 62 which passesthrough the arm and contacts withthe end' of the guide 58. Mounted uponthe arm 6() is a bell crank lever 63, one arm 64 of ywhich is slotted asat 65 and engages with a pin 66 projecting from the rod 53. The otherarm of this bell crank lever extends downward to a pointbelow the bed ofthe machine and is there engaged by a cam as will be later described,whereby the bell crank lever shall be reciprocated at predeterminedtimes to raise and lower the formers 47.

' It will be seen that the former 47 =is bifurcated to permit the lowerextension 52 of the spring 50 to project through between the legs 48 ofthe former and into position to engage and guide the upper edge of theboard a, as illustrated in Fig. 6.

The means for giving a reciprocating movement to the board guides 18 andthe tracks connected thereto, to the finger 40 and to the slide carryingthe jaws 30 are as follows. Only a very limited reciprocating motion isnecessary to be given to the slide 7 carrying the board guides 18 andthe tracks 22. I secure this movement by means of a cam 67 mounted upona shaft 68. The cam has the form of a segment of a circle, the circlebeing cut away upon the chord of an arc so that the cam has a fiattenedface 69.

Pivotally mounted below the frame 2 of the machine in any suitablemanner is a lever 70, this lever projecting up through the middleportions of the slides 7 and 26 as illustrated in the perspective view Fig. l0. The lower end of the lever 70 is formed with an antifrictionroller 71 which contacts with the face o-f the cam 67. The lever extendsvertically upward and at its upper end is formed with a relatively shortelliptical slot 73, through which passes a wrist pin 74. This pinprojects from a sliding` block 7 5 shiftable in a guide slot 76 formedin a vertically disposed flange 77 carried by the slides 7. This block75 is adjustable along the slot 76 by means of a feed screw 78 having ahandle 79. By rotating t-he feed screw in one direction or the other,the slide block will be adjusted along the slot 76 to any desired point.By this means the slide may be adjusted relatively to the wrist pin 74.Thus when the adjusting screw 78 is turned so that the block 7 5 is inthe forward end of the slot 76, the slide will be drawn outward to itsfarthest extent so as to accommodate relatively wide boards A. IVhen thescrew is so turned, however, as to cause the block to move to the innerend of the slot 76, the slide will be shifted inward or toward thecenter of the machine and it will be in position for operating on verysmall boards to make very small boxes.

It will be seen that a rotation of the cam 67 will cause a reciprocationof the lever 70 and that this through the pin 74 will cause areciprocation of the slide 7, and that this slide will cause the tracks22 and the spring 37 to move toward and from the corresponding former47.

For operating the pushing finger 40 which feeds the boards, I providethe rack bar 42, previously referred to. The sides of this rack bar aregrooved as at 80 and the rack bar is guided upon guide strips 8l oarriedby the frame 2 o-f the machine or supported in any other suitablemanner.

Engaging with the rack bar 42 is a sector gear 82, as illustrated inFig. 4. This sector gearis mounted uponapivot 83 and extends beyond thepivot, and upon this extension is provided an antifriction roller 84with which a cam 85 mounted upon the shaft 68 engages. This cam has acurved face 86 and a flat face 87. As the shaft 68 rotates in thedirection of the arrow, Fig. 4, the curved face engages with theantifriction roller and rotates the sector gear in the direction of thearrow, Fig. 4. I/Vhen the curved face 86 escapes the roller 84, a springor like device draws the sector back to its original position and withit of course shifts outward the rack bar 42 and finger 40.

In order to reciprocate the slide 26 in the same manner as the slide 7,I form one side of the slide 26, as illustrated in Fig. 11, with theupwardly extending flange or box 88 which is longitudinally slot-ted asat 89. Passing through this slot is a wrist pin 90 which is adjustableto any point along the slot. The wrist pin 90 is mounted upon the upperextremity of an arm 91 which is longitudinally slotted as at 92 toreceive the wrist pin. The wrist pin is preferably mounted in a block 93disposed in the slot 89, this block having projecting from it a screw 94and being provided with a nut 95 having a handle whereby it may beoperated. This is the same construction as previously described foradjusting the wrist pin 74. By rotating the handle, the block 93 may beadjusted along the slot 89 to any required position. The lever 91 issubstantially triangular in form and is pivoted in any suitable mannerat 96. The lever has a downwardly extending nose 97 carrying at itslower end an antifriction roller 98 which engages with a cam 99 mountedupon the shaft 68. As this cam rotates, it will move the upper end ofthe lever upward and inward, thus carrying the slide 26 inward or towardthe center of the machine, this slide carrying with it the pressing jawsor abutments 30.

It will be seen from Fig. 10 that the flange or boxing 77 is located onone side of the slide 7, while the slotted flange or boxing 88 islocated on the opposite side of the slide 26. The cams 99, 67 and 87 areso timed with relation to each other that as the upper end of the lever70 moves rearward, the finger 40 will be `carried forward or toward thecenter of the machine, thus causing a discharge of the lowermost boardof each pile of boards A. The finger 40 moving forward carries the boardbeneath the spring 2l which holds the board firmly down upon the ways22, as illustrated in Fig. 4. During this forward movement 0f the board,the jaws 30 are being carried rearward by means of the connection of theslide 26 to the lever 91. Vhen the board has passed beyond the ends ofthe jaws 30, the rack bar 8O commences to move back, carrying with itthe finger 40. At the same time the slide 26 commences to move forward,carrying with it the jaws 30, and the board t is forced into a verticalposition, the lower edge of the board riding up on the upwardly curvedspring 37. Vhen the upper edge of the board reaches the stops 43, theboard is held from any further upward movement and the continued inwardmovement of the jaws 3() turns the board into a vertical position, asshown in Fig. 7, the lower edge of the board being supported by thespring 37. The continued inward movement of the jaws 30 now presses thefour boards forming the sides and endsof the boxes into engagement witheach other. Just before the jaws 30' are retracted, the

formers 47 are raised by the upward move` ment of the rod 53, the jaws30holding the box during this period. After the formers have disengagedfrom the box, the jaws 30 are retracted, that is, moved outward,leavingthe box supported by the springs 37. Each slide 7 is then shiftedoutward the small extent of its travel, withdrawing the springs 37 frombeneath the box and permitting the box to drop through the center of themachine as illustrated in Fig. 3.

For the purpose of raising andlowering the rod 53, I have shown a cam100 which has the shape illustrated in lFig. 12. It will be seen thatthis cam has a long period of dwell because of the concentric face 101,at which time the boards of the box are being forced into position. Thecam then causes the rod 53 to raise quickly, at which time the box dropsthrough the center of the machine as previously described, whereupon therod 53 returns to its lowered position, carrying the formers to againengage the side boards of a box.

IVhile I do not wish to limit myself to any particular mounting forthese various cams, or any particular' means of driving them, Ipreferably mount them as illustrated in Fig. 1, in which 68a is adriving shaft having thereon a gear wheel 102 which is engaged by apinion 103 mounted on a shaft 104 provided with the band wheels 105whereby power may be transmitted to the machine.

Ihe shaft 68a constitutes the driving shaft for operating mechanism forfeeding and placing in position onev of the boards of the box, and poweris transmitted from this shaft 68a to the other three board feeding andactuating mechanisms by meansV of three shafts k68 extending at rightangles to each other and engaged with each other by the bevel gearwheels 106 in a manner which will be obvious to those skilled in theart. Each of the shafts 68, and also the shaft 68a which is exactly thesame as the shaft 68, except that it carries upon it the means fordriving the other shafts, is provided with a cam 67, a cam 99, and a cam85. One of the shafts 68 also carries upon it the cam 100 for operatingthe bell crank levers 63.

It is particularly desirable that the engaging ends of the boards whichform the completed box should be coated with glue or other adhesive sothat the interlocking joints will have a tight engagement with eachother. For this purpose I provide the troughs 108 which are supported inany suitable manner below the machine and in which dip the rollers 109.These rollers as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 9 extend upward through thetracks on a level with the upper edges of the flanges 24 of the tracks22 so that the boards A as they pass from the board holder or carriermust pass over these rollers. Ihe rollers are spaced apart the width ofthe box so that the tongued and grooved ends of the boards will come incontact with the glue-applying rollers. It will be seen that the endfaces of the boards come in contact with these glue rollers and thathence it will be the inside faces of the boards that will be coated withglue. These glue applying rollers are mounted on stub shafts 110 eachprojecting from an ar1n 111 as illustrated particularly well in Fig. 9.These arms are angular and are offset at 112 so as to extend beneath thetracks 22. The arms are each pivoted to the side of the hopper or boardguide 19 by means of a bolt 113 which passes through a bolt opening 113ain the arm. The glue applying' disks 109 may be adjusted by looseningthe collars 114 whichhold the shaft 110 with relation to the arm 111. Bythis means the glue may be spread on the outer edges of the lockingtongues on the board or may be applied so as to extend beyond theselocking tongues and onto the main portion of the board. The glue disksmay'be raised or lowered by loosening the bolt 113 upon which they arepivoted and moving the arm toward or away from thevcenter of themachine. Whenthe disks 109 are once properly set they do not needfurther adjustment. rIhe glue troughs 108 are attached to the lowerslides 7 by bands passing beneath the glue troughs or in any suitablemanner and move forward and back with the slides 7.

To adjust this machine for different sizes of boxes, the vertical boardguides 18 which constitute hoppers are adjusted to suit the length ofthe boards. The nuts which clamp the shaft 74 to the iiange or boxing 77are loosened and the crank 79 turned until the ends of all the tracksmeet with each other at right angles and nearly form the outsidemeasurement of the box, as shown in Fig. 1. TheY slides 26 are thenmoved in a similar manner until the jaws 30 form the exact outsidemeasurement of t-he box. The aws are adjusted by loosening the screws 34which hold them in the slotted ways and the two jaws are moved toward oraway from each other until the jaws are as far apart as the length ofthe boards they are to press. The ends of the jaws may either press` theboards inside the tongues or grooves or at the extreme ends of theboards. The former is shifted on the arms 54 until the formers coincideywith the inside' measurement of the box and the stop plate 44 isshifted vertically until the distance betweenthe, stops 43 and the rails22 is equal to the depth of the box.

The machine is so arranged that the slides 7 move forward toward thecenter just before the boards are fed to the center. The pushing ngers40 push the lower boards from the guides or hoppers over the tracks 22and under the jaws 30, leaving the boards just ahead of the jaws, asshown in Fig. 4. The guide springs attached to the inner ends of theslides 7 raise the boards to the position shown in Fig. 7 and the jaws30 on the slides 26 push the boards to a vertical position and press thetongued ends of the boards into engagement with each other. After thebox is pressed, the formers rise. The slides 7 and 26 then move back totheir original positions and as the slides 7 move back, the box dropsupon a conveyer and is carried out from under the machine.

It will be noted that by the provision of the spring 37 and theadjustable stops 43, I provide for raising any one or more of the boardsto a height sufficient to bring its top edge above the top edges of theother boards. The spring 37 is relatively strong and as a consequencewill push the board A upward until it strikes the stop. It is theadjustability of the stop which provides for regulating the height towhich any one of the side or end boards may be pushed. This constructionprovides for raising the two side boards relative to the end boards orvice versa, as where a slide cover is to be provided for.

It will be seen from Fig. 6 that the spring 21 acts to press the boardsinto contact with the rollers and hence the passage of the board fromthe board carrying guides 1S to the former 47 will act to rotate therollers in the glue troughs and cover them with glue which is applied tothe board in transit.

One particular advantage incident to this machine is that it will set upvery small boxes, much smaller than ordinary box machines. A machineconstructed in accordance with this invention will set up boxes as smallas two and one-half inches long by one and one-half inches wide and caneven be adjusted to set up boxes one inch wide. A further advantageousfeature of this machine is that it is capable of gluing small boxeswithout sticking up the machine with glue.

1While I have described what I believe to be the best form of myinvention and the form which I have found to be very effective inpractice, I do not wish to be limited to the details of theconstruct-ion as it is obvious that many minor changes might be madetherein wit-hout departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is 1. In amachine for assembling boxes,

means for supporting a series of horizontally disposed boards insuperposed relation, a board pressing slide, means for feeding saidboards one at a time from the board support into position in advance ofsaid pressing slide, means for raising the board to a vertical positionin front of the pressing slide, and means for reciprocating saidpressing slide.

2. A box machine including four pairs of independent slides, the slidesof each pair being superposed upon each other, the pairs of slides beingdisposed in rectangular relation to each other, one slide of each paircarrying vertical board supports and inwardly extending tracks uponwhich the boards are moved and the other slide of each pair carryingboard engaging pressers. a former disposed at the end of each track,upwardly curved springs disposed at the end of each track and in frontof said formers, means for independently reciprocating said slides tofeed the boards and press them into engagement with each other to form abox, and means for releasing the formers from engagement with the box soformed.

3. A box machine including four pairs of superposed independentlymovable slides, the pairs of slides being disposed in rectangularrelation, one slide of each pair carrying vertically disposed boardguides, and the other slide of each pair carrying board engagingpressers, reciprocating board feeding devices, one for each pair ofslides and engaging the boards supported in the board guides to movethem into a position in front of the pressers, means for turning theboards into a vertical position as they are shifted in front of thepressers, formers located in front of each pair of slides, stops on theformers for limiting the upward movement of the boards, means forindependently reciprocating said slides, and pushers, to feed the boardsand pressthem into engagement with each other to form a box, means forwithdrawing said pressers from engagement with the boards, and means forreleasing the formers from engagement with lthe box so formed.

4. A box forming machine including in its organization a pair ofsuperposed slides, vertical board guides mounted on one of said slides,pressing members hingedly mounted upon the other slide in advance of thevertical guides, tracks mounted upon the first named slide and extendingbeneath the pressing members, means for pushing the boards from theboard guides and beneath the hinged pressing members, and means locatedin advance of the pressing members for tilting the board in a verticalposition.

5. A box forming machine including in its organization a pair ofsuperposed slides, vertical board guides mounted on one of said slides,pressing members hingedly `the pressing members for tilting the board toa vertical position.

6. A box forming machine including in its organization board guides forsupporting boards in a horizontal position, tracks upon which saidboards slide, an upwardly curved spring at the inner ends of saidtracks, a former at the inner end ofthe tracks having an outwardlyprojecting limiting stop, and means for pushing the board along thetracks and into contact with the spring and against the former".

7. A box forming machine including in its organization superposedslides, vertical board guides carried on one of said slides, pressingmembers carried on the other slide in advance ofthe vertical guides,tracks extending beneath the pressing members, means for pushing a boardfrom the board guides alo-ng said tracks and beneath the pressingmembers, means located in advance of the pressing members for tiltingthe board to a vertical position, and a vertically disposed formerlocated at the ends of said tracks and having an outwardly projectingstop. r

8. A box forming machine including in its organization independentlyreciprocating cooperating slides, vertical board guides carried by oneof said slides, pressing members carried by the other slide in advanceof the vertical guides, tracks extending beneath the pressing membersand from the vertical board guides, means for pushing a. board from theboard guides along said tracks, an upwardly curved spring at the innerend of the tracks for causing a board to take a vertical position, avertically disposed formez located at the end of the track, and a stopprojected from the former and engaging the edge of the board when it is.turned to its vertical position and limiting the upward movement of theboard.

9. In" a machine for assembling boxes, a former, a track extendingtherefrom, a presser reciprocating toward and from the former andarranged adjacent to the track, said presser being yieldable in a planeat right angles to the plane of the track, means for feeding the boardbetween the presser and the track into a position between the presserand the former, and means for turning the board into a plane at rightangles to the direction of movement of the presser.

10. A machine for assembling boxes including in its organizationvertically disposed board guides, a slide mounted in advance of theboard guides and reciprocating toward and from the board guides,pressing members hingedly mounted upon the slide for movement in avertical plane, a track disposed beneath said slide and spacedtherefrom, and means for forcing a board from the board guides onto saidtrack, beneath the pressing members and into a position in advance ofthe pressing members, and means for raising the board to a verticalposition.

l1. A box assembling machine including inits organization a pair ofcooperating superposed slides, vertical board guides carried upon one ofsaid slides, pressing members carried upon the other slide in advance ofthe vertical guides, said pressing members being adjustable nearer to orfarther from each other, spaced tracks carried upon the first namedslide and extending beneath the second named slide, means for moving aboard fromthe vertical board guides onto said tracks beneath the slidecarrying the pressing members into posit-ion in advance thereof, meansfor raising said board to a vertical position, and means for relativelyreciprocating the said slides.

l2. A box assemblingmachine including' in its organization a boardsupporting member having vertical board guides mounted lthereon forsupporting a series of horizontally arranged boards, a reciprocatingpressing slide mounted in advance of the board supporting member, across bar hinged to said pressing slide for vertical movement, pressingmembers. mounted upon said cross bar and independently adjustabletherealong, a track extending beneath the said slide, and means forshifting said boards one at a time from the vertical guides onto saidtrack along the track beneath the pressing members into a position inadvance of said pressing members and raising said board to a verticalposition.

13. A box assembling machine including in its organization a boardsupporting member having vertical board guides for supporting a seriesof boards in a horizontally disposed relation, a slide coperating withthe board supporting member and reciprocating toward and from the boardsupporting member, a cross bar forming part of said slide and disposedin advance of the board guides of the supporting member, a transverselyextending slotted member hinged to the cross bar for movement in avertical plane, pressing members mounted upon said slotted member andhaving devices engaging said slot permitting the pressing members to beadjusted along the slot, tracks extending beneath said slide, and meansfor feeding one of said series of boards onto said tracks beneath thepressing members and for raising the board to a vertical position infront of said pressing members.

14. In a machine for assembling boxes, the combination with areciprocating board pressing slide, of a track disposed below thepressing slide and in its path of movement, a plurality of boardpressing members pivotally mounted upon the slide for movement in avertical plane, the inner faces of said members being beveled, and meansfor shifting a board along said track beneath said slide and intoposition in advance of the pressing members.

15. A box forming machine including in its organization a pair ofsuperposed cooperating slides, oppositely disposed vertical standardsmounted on one of said slides and connected at their upper ends by across bar, depending vertically disposed board guides mounted upon saidcross bar and adjustable toward or from each other, pressing membersmounted upon the other of said slides in advance of the first namedslide, and tracks carried upon said board guides and laterallyadjustable therewith, said tracks extending downward and beneath t-heslide carrying the pressing members, and means for feeding one of aseries of boards carried in said board guides over said tracks to aposition in advance of the pressing members.

1G. A box assembling machine including in its organization areciprocating board carrying slide, oppositely disposed verticalstandards supported on the slide, a cross bar connecting said standardsand longitudinally slotted, members attached. to the side of the crossbar and having bolts passing through the slots, depending guidesattached to said members, said guides being angular in cross section andadapted to support a superposed series of boards in a horizontal plane,a board pressing slide having pressing members disposed in advance ofthe board supporting slide, tracks mounted on the board guides andextending' down beneath the pressing slide, a former disposed at theinner ends of the tracks, and means for feeding one of said boards fromthe board guides along said tracks to a position in advance of thepressing members and for raising said board to a vertical positionagainst the former.

17. A box forming machine including in its organization, a pair ofsuperposed slides, vertically disposed standards mounted on one of saidslides, a cross-bai' connecting the upper ends of the standards,laterally adjustable board guides dep-ending from said cross-bar,pressing members hingedly mount-ed on the other slide in advance of thevertical guides, tracks extending from the lower ends of the boardguides and beneath the pressing members, a reciprocatingpusher locatedbetween the tracks, a former located at the ends of the tracks, meanslocated in advance of the former and guiding a board into a verticalposition against the former, and means for reciprocating the pushingdevices and the slides.

1S. In a box forming machine, vertically disposed board guides forsupporting superposed boards in a horizontal position, said guides beingadjustable nearer to or farther from each other, and independent tracksmcunted upon said guides and adjustable therewith, board pressingmembers mounted above said tracks in advance of the guides, and meansfor feeding a board from said guides adong the tracks into position inadvance of the board pressing members.

19. In a box assembling machine, oppositely disposed verticallyextending board guides for supporting a series of super'- posed boardsin a horizontal position, said guides being adjustable nearer to orfarther from each other, parallel track members mounted upon the lowerends of said guides and extending out therefrom, said track memberscomprising each an outer strip and an inner strip, the outer strip beinghigher than the inner strip, the aid strips being spaced apart,laterally adjustable board pressing devices disposed immediately abovesaid tracks and reciprocating toward or from the board guides,reciprocating means for forcing the lowermost board of the seriescontained in the board guides along said track and beneath the pressingdevices, and means for turning said board into a vertical position inadvance of the pressing devices.

20. In a box forming machine., a board track, means for feeding a boardfiat-wise along the track, means for turning the board into a verticalposit-ion, and yieldingly elevating the board, and means for engagingthe upper edge of t-he board when in a vertical position for limitingits upward movement under the impulse of the elevating means.

21. In a box assembling machine, a board track, means for feeding thebo-ard fiatwise along the track, means for turning the board into avertical position and yieldingly elevating the board, and verticallyadjustable means for engaging the upper end of the board when in avertical position for adjustably limiting its upward movement under theimpulse of the elevating means.

22. In a box forming machine, a former located at the center of themachine, means for forcing a board toward the former and turning theboard into a vertical position against the former, a pressing membermovable toward the former, and a spring member mounted on the former andyieldingly supported in advance of the former, said spring memberco-acting with the pressing member to hold the board as it is beingpressed into posit-ion.

28. In a box making machine, a track, a

former disposed at the end of the track, said former being bifurcated, aspring member attached to the inner face of the former and having itslower end projecting outward through the bifurcation of the former, thelower end being then downwardly'extended, means for feeding a boa-rdalong the track, means for turning the board into vertical positionagainst the face of the spring member on the former, pressing membersdisposed above the track, and means for forcing said pressing membersagainst the board.

24. In a box assembling machine, a board suppo-rting slide, a boardpressing slide, means for independently reciprocating said slides withrelation to each other, tracks extending from the board supportingslidey beneath the board pressing slide, means for feeding a board fromthe board supporting slide onto'said tracks and into position in advanceof the board pressing slides and turning said board into a verticalposition, and means for independently adjusting the length of travel ofsaid slides.

25. In a box assembling machine, four pairs of superposed slides, theslides of each pair being independently reciprocatable and the pairs ofslides being arranged in rectangular relation to each other, verticallydisposed board suppo-rting members carried upon one'slide of each pair,board pressing members carried upon the other slide of each pair, boardpressing members carried upon the other slide of each pair, means forreciprocating each of said slides relatively to each other toward andfrom the center of the machine, means for independently adjusting thelength of movement of said slides, and means for feeding boards carriedby said board supporting members of each pair of slides to a position inadvance of the corresponding pressing members and turning said boardsinto a vertical position.

' 26. A box assembling machine including in its organization fourcoperating pairs of slides relatively movable toward each other, theslides of each pair also being relatively movable, one slide of eachpair carryinO vertically disposed board supporting memrbers, pressingdevices mounted upon the other slide of each pair, tracks attached toeach of the board supporting slides, said tracks extending toward thecenter of the machine and below the pressing members, reciprocatingmembers for independently actuating each slide, and adjustableconnections between the reciprocating members and the slides whereby theinward movement of the slides toward the center of the machine may beadjust-ed. 27. A box machine including board guides arranged inrectangular relation adapted to support box side and end-pieces in ahorizontal plane, means for feeding the pieces flat-wise from theguides, vertically disposed yielding means for engaging the middle ofeach piece and sustaining the pieces in a vertical position, andpressing devices arranged to operate on said pieces on each side of thesaid yielding means.

28. A box assembling machine including four pairs of board guidesarranged in rectangular relation to each other adapted'to support boxside and end-pieces in a horizontal plane, means for feeding the piecesedge-wise one by one from the guides toward the center of the machine,vertically disposed forming members located at the center of themachine, means for turning the' side and end-pieces to a vertical planeand against said formers, yielding means projecting from the formers andengaging the middles of the side and end-pieces, and pressing devicesarranged to operate on said pieces on each side of said yielding means.

29. In a box assembling machine, the combination with four cooperatingboard ,feeding and pressing devices arranged in rectangular relation, offormers arranged at the center of the machine and acting to limit theinward movement of the boards, means for reciprocating the board feedingand pressing devices toward and from the formers, tracks extendingbeneath the feeding and pressing devices and toward theformers, saidtracks being reciprocatable toward and from the formers, and means forraising and lowering said formers.

30. In a box assembling machine, the' combination with four cooperatingboard feeding and pressing devices: having rectangular relation to eachother, of vertically disposedv formers located at the center of themachine for limiting the inward movement of the boards and vforsupporting them in a vertical position while they are being pressed,said formers being adjustable toward or from said pressing devices,means for shifting the pressing and feeding de` vices toward and fromthe formers, adjustable means for predetermining the amount of movementof the pressing and feeding devices toward the formers, and means forraising and lowering the formers. v

31. In a box assembling machine, the combination with four-coperatingboard supporting devices adapted to support four series o f boards insuperposed relation and four pressing devices coacting with thesupportingdevices, the supporting and pressing devices being arranged inrectangular relation to each other, of means for independentlyreciprocating the board supporting and the pressing devices, verticallydisposed formers located at the center of the machine for limiting theinward movement of the boards and for supporting them in a verticalposition while they are being pressed, four pairs of tracks attached tothe board supporting devices and extending beneath the pressing devicesand toward the corresponding former, said tracks reciprocating with thesupporting devices, means for feeding the boards carried by the boardsupporting devices from said tracks to a position in advance of theboard pressing devices and for raising the boards to a vertical positionagainst said formers, and means for reciprocating said formers.

32. In a box assembling machine, the combination with four coperatingboard supporting devices having means thereon for supporting four seriesof boards 1n superposed relation, four pressing devices coacting withthe board supporting devices and mounted in advance thereof and fourvertically disposed formerslocated at the center of the machine, oftracks extending from each of the board supporting devices toward theformers and beneath the board pressing devices, reciprocatable boardengaging devices disposed beneath the board supporting devices andadapted to engage the lowcrmost board of each series and shift saidboard along the tracks toward the formers to a posit-ion in advance ofthe board pressing devices, means for turning said boards into avertical position against said formers, means for shifting the boardpressing devices toward the formers and into engagement with the boards,means for moving said board pressing devices away from the formers,means for moving the board supporting devices and the tracks carriedthereby away from said formers, and means for raising the formers topermit the discharge of the completed box.

In a box assembling machine, the

combination with four vertically disposed formers having rectangularrelation with each other, said formers being located at the center ofthe machine, and means for raising and lowering said formers, of meansfor holding a board against each one of said formers and pressing saidboards into engagement with each other, means for withdrawing saidholding means, and means for raisingsaid formers to discharge thecompleted box. A box assembling machine including 1n its organizationspaced tracks laterally adjustable with relation to each other, meansfor feeding a board over said tracks, means for holding the boards tothe tracks, spaced glue-applying wheels located beneath said tracks inposition to contact with the under side of the board, and means foradjusting said glue-applying wheels to correspond with the adjustment ofthe tracks.

35. A box assembling machine including in its organization spacedrelatively adjustable tracks, each of said tracks being composed ofspaced parallel side pieces, the outer of said side pieces extendingabove the inner, means for feeding a board fiat-wise along the edge ofthe inner side piece, the ends of the boards contacting with the saidouter side piece, a trough extending transversely beneath the tracks, atransversely extending shaft, and glue-applying rollers adjus'tablymounted on the shaft and projecting into the space between the sidepieces of the tracks and contacting with the ends of t-he boards as theboards are fed along the tracks.

36. A box machine including in its organization spaced tracks, verticalboard guides for supporting a plurality of boards in superposedrelation, means for discharging the boards from said guides into saidtracks, and moving them along the tracks, an upwardly curved spring atthe ends of the tracks for guiding the boards to a vertical position,springs holding the boards down upon the tracks, and glue applyingrollers projecting upwardly through the tracks and adapted to contactwith the ends of the boards as the boards move over the tracks.

37. A box assembling machine including in its organization verticalboard guides for supporting a plurality of boards in superposedrelation, said board guides being adjustable toward or from each other,spaced tracks mounted upon said boa-rd guides and extending therefrom,said tracks being adjustable with the board guides toward or from eachother, means for discharging the boards from said. guides onto saidtracks and moving them along the tracks, springs holding the boards downupon the tracks, a trough extending beneath the tracks, a transverselyextending shaft, and glue-applying rollers on the shaft projectingupward through the tracks in position to contact with the ends of theboards as the boards move over the tracks, said glue-applying rollersbeing laterally adjustable on the shaft to correspond with theadjustment of theboard guides and tracks.

38. In a box assembling machine, the combination with a former, tracksextending toward the former and a slide movable toward and from theformer, of pressing jaws hingedly mounted on said slide immediatelyabove the tracks, means for feeding the boards one by one along saidtracks toward the former and beneath the hinged jaws, and an upwardlycurved resilient member disposed at the end of said tracks and adjacentto the former for turning the board into a vertical position as it isforced toward the former by the pressing jaws.

39. A box assembling machine including a frame, four board supportingdevices mounted on said frame and including Vertical guides adapted tosupport a plurality of boards in superposed relation, tracks extendingfrom each of said guides toward the center of the machine, formerslocated at the ends of the tracks, four board pressing devices locatedin advance of the board supporting devices and having rectangular rela`tion to each other and being disposed above said tracks, means forsimultaneously Jfeeding the lovvermost boards from each of the series ofboards along said tracks and into position between each of said formersand the corresponding pressing devices, means for reciprocating theboard supporting devices and the tracks, means for reciprocating theboard pressing devices, means for turning the boards into a verticalposition against said formers as the pressing devices move toward theformers, means for laterally adjusting the tracksy With relation to eachother, means for laterally adjusting the board supporting guides Withrelation to each other, means for laterally adjusting the pressingdevices With relation to each other, means for adjusting the formerstoward or from the said guides, means for adjusting the inward movementof the board support-Y ing devices and the board pressing devices, andmeans for vertically reciprocating the said formers. .s

40. In a boX assembling machine, the combination with a slide havingboard guides thereon for supporting a series of boards in superposedrelation, parallel tracks attached to said slide, a slide superposedupon the first named slide and having thereon board pressing membersdisposed in advance of the board supporting slide and above said tracks,a former located at the end of the tracks, a board engaging fingerdisposed beneath the board supporting slide,'means for reciprocating thefinger tovvard and from the former to feed a board along said tracksbeneath the pressing members, means for reciprocating the boardsupporting slide and the tracks toward or from the former, means `forreciprocating the pressing members toupon one slide of each pair andadapted to support a series of boards in a horizontal position, boardpressing members mounted upon the otherslide of each pair, tracksmounted upon the board supporting slides and extending beneath thepressing slides,

said tracks extending toward the centen of i the machine, means forreciprocating the slides, and means for adjustably predetermining themovement of the slides toward each other.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

MICHAEL QUINIJAN.

Witnesses:

FORD M. THOMAS, MABLE D. DUNSHEE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

